After selling over $100 million in gold bars, Costco has now added platinum bars to its offerings.
A 1 oz. platinum bar reportedly retails for $1,089, slightly above platinum’s current $998-an-ounce spot price. Manufactured by PAMP Suisse—which has also supplied Costco’s gold bars—the bar comes inscribed with an image of the Roman goddess of fortune and luck.
Costco’s platinum bars are sold only to members, and only online. (That was originally true of the gold bars, though someone on Reddit posted a photo of a gold bar at a Costco store in Hawthorne, Calif.)
Unlike other Costco items, platinum bars can’t be bought in bulk. Members are limited to one purchase, of a maximum five bars.
Like the gold bars, the platinum items are nonrefundable. They appear to be currently available, though some online have complained they’ve been sold out. Delivery isn’t available to Nevada, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.
Costco’s success has led Walmart to offer gold and platinum bars on its website too.
While the price of platinum hasn’t made wild gains like gold has, Ivan Feinseth, an analyst with Tigress Financial Partners, told MarketWatch that it makes sense for Costco to offer precious metal bars, despite their seemingly low margins. The listings build buzz for Costco and have a “halo effect,” he said.
(Photo courtesy of Costco)
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